3 reasons why Dropbox and similar cloud storage solutions won’t work for your business

January 11, 2018By Katalin Bódi

Two of the oldest cloud storage file sharing platforms on the market nowadays are SugarSync and Box.com, both launched in 2005. Followed by Google Docs in 2006 and OneDrive in 2007. Dropbox has reached an incredibly high number of users, 300 million since launch in 2007. Google Drive has 240 million users and according to Microsoft, OneDrive has more than 250 million users. These applications have been highly adopted as they are very easy to use and accessible to anyone. With most vendors leading with their ‘Freemium’ pricing strategy, by which a product or service is provided free of charge, it’s a no-brainer for anyone who is looking to implement and trial cloud storage for themselves.

However, don’t be confused by the numbers or their marketing message. Since all of them allude to similar benefits and user scenarios when you buy into their business solutions – unlock the power of cloud storage to save space, boost collaboration and team working in the workplace. At the core of these applications, there is one key feature – a folder that sync’s really well. They offer a simple user interface with a familiar approach to file storage (folders) that can be ‘accessed anywhere’, a key benefit of remote cloud storage. Additionally, they provide a more convenient way of sharing files than the archaic email attachment. Unfortunately, these public cloud platforms have been designed and best serve the individual end user for handling and sharing personal files like photos and videos among trusted family, friends and colleagues. Therefore, lacks all the important security and configuration features that are crucial for enterprise file management and collaboration.

Here are 3 reasons why these cloud storage and file share solutions shouldn’t be used by enterprises, especially within the engineering and manufacture sector.

1. IT has no control

I.T. has no control over the performance or service up-time of these public cloud platforms. ‘Private clouds’ or server-based solutions that are deployed within a company’s firewall provide more favorable transfer speeds than the average broadband connection. Transfer rates can be problematic and should be a consideration when handling large files. such as a large CAD assembly file. Sufficient transfer rates will undoubtedly determine productivity. There are concerns regarding where your data is stored and the risk of losing control over your data. Typically cloud storage platforms store all their users’ data at the same locations, within offshore data warehouses or 3rd party storage providers. This means that your data and the way it is handled is subject to local laws and most of the time we don’t even know the physical location of the data store. If any of these third-party data storage companies would go bankrupt (as it happened with Nirvanix and Wuala) you would be left with very little time to save your data.

2. Risk of data breach

Dropbox was hacked in 2012 and after that, a list of Dropbox user’s logins has been published on the internet. Cyber-attacks can come from any number of directions and a comprehensive plan to ensure cyber security across the enterprise is necessary. Cyber threats are too pervasive and public cloud platforms which hold millions of user’s files and data are an obvious target for cyber-attacks. Since consumer experience has become a dominant driving force in product development, products these days are built more for reliability than security. A possible data breach like that can affect not only the hacked platform but many others since people tend to use the same password across multiple business apps. A data breach can cost companies millions or even put them out of business. Therefore, is it worth the risk to introduce public platforms into your enterprise?

3. Secure Collaboration

Syncing the latest file to everybody’s folder across many devices is a great way to distribute content and ensure people have access to the latest file. However, challenges arise when edits are made and multiple people are collaborating and changing the same file. Peoples hard work can be overwritten if you’re not implementing robust collaboration tools. These popular and well-known cloud storage platforms don’t have robust features to support a secure collaboration process such as “Check-in and Check-out”. Within a manufacturing company, this should be a requirement when choosing a file management provider. CAD assembly files can have many contributors and are regularly edited by various teams. Depending on the magnitude and complexity of your file, you may have teams working on different modules within the same assembly file performing alterations at the same time. without secure collaboration features such as the ability to check out a portion of an assembly, you are limited to locking down the whole file permitting only one person to edit. without robust collaboration tools users resort to tedious file naming procedures that are not only time-consuming but ineffective – related errors include purchasing from the wrong bill of materials or even manufacturing from the wrong file version.

To conclude:

Users seek the easiest route to collaborate and complete their task. Typically, within a functional department, business users are collaborating and storing or sharing information through emails, file transfer sites, Dropbox and USB drives. Much of this activity is ad hoc and done with tools that aren’t owned or managed by the enterprise. In many cases, consumer tools are used. The fact that this happens is not the problem though, at least not completely. People are essentially doing this for business purposes. Today employees are looking for easy and fast ways to share information and get the job done: USB devices, mobile devices, email, Dropbox and other online file transfer services. If you don’t provide an effective data management and collaboration environment within your organization, you’re at risk of employees connecting and sharing through unmanaged networks. Even if you have a system in place, if it’s too cumbersome to use employees will work in parallel with the platform choosing the easiest route to collaborate.

So, what should we do to avoid all these risks?
The most effective way to prevent any issues is to educate employees about cyber security and best practices to keeping their data secure. This should happen on a regular basis to keep employees informed, ideally in the form of training.
Secondly, employees should be provided with an effective solution to securely store, share and collaborate on files in a simple and user-friendly way. If there is no such infrastructure in place, people will always find a way to use an easy and quick solution without the knowledge and consent of IT.
So after sizing up the actual needs and priorities of your company, choose a secure solution for your data handling needs that also fits your budget and is aimed at enterprise data management and not limited to one department. The price of effective data management will be cheaper than the alternative – the cost of losing productivity, data, and security.